Crosby Stills Nash & Young - D?j? Vu
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Free Music Notes for D?j? Vu
Free Music Review: A Greatest Hits album in itself!
Hit: 5 Stars
Crosby, Stills, and Nash released their debut in 1969 and brought a lot of attention to themselves. Not bad considering ABBEY ROAD, LET IT BLEED, TOMMY, the first two Led Zeppelin albums, and numerous other rock classics were also released that year. For their second LP, they were joined by Stills' former Buffalo Springfield bandmate Neil Young. With DEJA VU, they released the best album of their career, even better than their great debut.
Stephen Stills' kicks the album off with the rocker "Carry On" and the album doesn't let up. He also penned the solo acoustic "4+20" and co-wrote the excellent closer "Everybody I Love You" with Young.
Graham Nash shows his poppier insticnts with his two tracks. "Teach Your Children" was the big hit from the album and foreshadowed the burgeoning country rock movement. It also features some good pedal steel work from Jerry Garcia. "Our House" with its piano, harmonies, and domestic lyrics plays like a tribute to Paul McCartney and stands up with some of Sir Paul's best work.
Neil Young's "Helpless" is one of his many great songs. A beautiful melody and backing vocal arrangement contrast with the ragged qualities of Young's lead vocals and instrumentation. "Country Girl" is a typically idiosyncratic medley. Musically, it lives up to its title.
I've never cared that much for David Crosby's "Almost Cut My Hair." After penning the previous LP's highpoint "Long Time Gone," this is a rather disappointingly bland rocker. He fairs better on the pastiche that is the title track.
Despite my dislike of "Almost Cut My Hair," I still give this album 5 stars because the best songs outweigh the one bad one. Though Young would not record with the trio for another 18 years, they did release an absolute rock classic with DEJA VU.
Free Music Review: Good effort
Hit: 4 Stars
This album certainly has its fair share of classics. Four, to be percise (Teach Your Children, Helpless, Woodstock, Our House). And two of these four (Teach Your Children and Woodstock) are among the best songs ever recorded ever. Sure, Joni's version of Woodstock is great, but CSNY's blows it out of the water. I mean, listen to Young's guitar! Teach Your Children has lovely steel guitar (a phrase I never thought I'd see myself type) and those classic lyrics/harmonies, and Our House has some beautiful piano.
But that's not all that's worth it here. Dig a bit deeper and you'll find David Crosby's rocker Almost Cut My Hair (some great lines here!) As a long-haired person, I can totally relate to this one. Also worth seeking out is Neil Young's Country Girl Suite, which is the best song on the album in terms of lyrics. Also good here are Carry On and the aforementioned Helpless.
But there are a few lesser moments here. Though there's no song that's bad per se, the title track, 4 + 20 and Everybody I Love you are lesser throwaways.
But this is overall a fine record!
Free Music Review: LOVE IS COMING TO US ALL
Hit: 5 Stars
This is one of the greatest albums ever made. Each member of this rock and roll firm brought excellent, evocative songs to the table. I have listened to thousands of albums in my time; but D?J? VU still rings crisp and clear in my memory. The word "classic" gets thrown around too much-but this album is the real thing. This record launched thousands of young men and women to go out, get an acoustic guitar, and learn how to play. CSNY would not make another studio album again for many years and so D?J? VU marks what the 1970's could have been. Get this album, earlier CROSBY STILL & NASH, and the live 4 WAY STREET and you've have a record collection that puts most artists' entire album catalogue to shame.
While D?J? VU has an almost perfect balance of acoustic and electric songs, the wide range of musical styles is impressive even now. Steven Stills "Carry On" is an acoustic and harmonic wonder while his "4+20" is a quiet and introspective masterpiece. Graham Nash turns in the best two songs of his career with the country flavored "Teach Your Children" and the waltzing "Our House". David Crosby shines on a bluesy, typically "political" song that uncharacteristically is filled with humor and silly puns. His "D?j? Vu" is a highly textured, multi-layered song that is rich, heart felt and full of musical surprises-lyrically an absorbing meditation on reincarnation. Neil Young sings a beautiful, impressionistic hush of his Canadian childhood. In addition, Young contributes an operatic "Country Girl" that chains several songs together with some of the most beautiful poetic lines he has ever written.
The rest of the album takes Joni Mitchell's dirge-like "Woodstock" and turns it into a joyous, rocking occasion. Finally, the record concludes with a Stills and Young collaboration "Everybody I Love You".
I have met contemporaries from other countries who grew up with no clue as to CSNY's existence. Each time I have played this album for them they are stunned at its splendor and power. They were amazed they had no idea there was anything like this in America in that time. It is said that Hitler's generals warned him of the awesome power America and England would have if they ever combined together-not the least of which because both shared a common heritage and language. In CSNY we have two Americans, one Canadian, and one Englishman. Little did those German officers know what applied to a war machine would also come to realization in a musical force.
Free Music Review: I feel like letting my freak flag fly
Hit: 5 Stars
This album, along with their debut, is commonly referred to as the voice of a generation. Even as a 24 year old, this album sweeps me off into the peaceful tranquility of the Woodstock era. This was easily one of the most anticipated sophomore efforts in history; and it completely lives up to the hype. It took over 800 hours to record this album; and the band was hardly a "band" during the entire recording process. In fact, each member recorded most of their material separately, and was later engineered and edited. That just seems strange, given the beauty and unity this record holds. The addition of Neil Young gave the band fluency, and also added a new set of vocal ranges to the group. Young and Stills were at the top of their game, rising to new levels of complexity in their guitar work. Which gave "D?j? Vu" a much thicker sound than it's predecessor.
The album holds a lot of variety due to the separate recording sessions. But we do catch the band as a whole on two tracks - "Carry On" and "Woodstock". The latter being a cover of Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock". "Carry On" opens the album up with some of the most inventive work on the album. The lush vocal melodies fit perfectly with the acoustic and electric settings. It's very apparent that you are hearing a supergroup; a band epitomizing a wave of album rock to come. Still's guitar work is scathing, Dallas Taylor's drumming is visceral, and Greg Reeves bass work is inventive. It was a show favorite and concert staple among both CS&N and CSN&Y.
The second cut, "Teach Your Children" stands in stark contrast to the opener. Graham Nash created the typical example of the country-rock trend to come. Most notable, is the steel guitar twang brought forth by Jerry Garcia. The song is bittersweet in delivery. Nash sings about his personal experiences here. The lyric - "Teach your children well / Their father's hell will slowly go by" was likely in reference to Nash's father being sent to prison for possession of a stolen camera. The lyric is cleverly reversed at the end - "Teach your parents well, their children's hell will slowly go by." "Almost Cut My Hair" was immediately one of my favorites. David Crosby boasted a sense of rebellion and freedom with this electric paranoid hippie anthem. This was one of their more exciting live songs that they played. Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Neil Young play three-way solos as if the guitars were talking to each other. It also popularized the phrase - "Let my freak flag fly". My favorite cut would have to be Young's "Helpless". Many of the tunes here present the artists personal statements, and "Helpless" is no exception. Here we see Young reminiscing of his childhood, with a slow and soothing country melody. The song is so infectious and sweet that it's nearly enough to make one cry. Graham Nash strikes gold again with "Our House". The cut recounts a time when he and Joni Mitchell shared a cottage in Laurel Canyon. The melody is catchy, simple, and instantly memorable. And like "Teach Your Children", it strikes a personal chord with the audience. "Country Girl" was an especially cryptic cut for the album's mood, fronted by Neil Young. Although it's considerably toned down for this album; compared to Young's solo work, it's not all that unusual. It fits nicely on the album in the record's winding down motions. Those may be my favorites, but I cannot dismiss the title track, "4 + 20" or "Everybody I Love You", as they all add heavily to the album's 36 minutes of pure musical genius.
No wonder this album is referred to as the voice of a generation. After actually putting all that down in black and white, it's easy to understand how affecting these songwriters can be, as the draw stories from their own personal experiences. All these musicians were at the top of their game on "D?j? Vu". It's amazing it even happened at all, considering each individual's given ego. But like most classics, this album will bridge generational gaps for decades to come.
Free Music Review: This Supergroup's Best Album Got Better
Hit: 5 Stars
"Deja Vu" has always been my favorite album by CSN, because of the contribution of Neil Young. He added "Helpless" and my favorite song of the album, "Country Girl," which is essentially three songs thematically linked, in the manner of McCartney on the second side of "Abbey Road." Young also adds another layer of harmony to the already rich voices of Crosby, Stills and Nash. Moreover, this album showcases Stills and Nash at the peak of their talent as songwriters, with songs such as "4 + 20," "Carry On" and "Teach Your Children." As good as this album was, however, it always suffered from a lack of clarity in the voices and the instruments. Many albums released during this period used random equalization which compressed the sound and removed the detail. This remastered album corrects the sound quality of the original album in many ways. The lead and bass guitars are now defined and separate, the lush voices are richer and more distinct, and the overall sound has better imaging. Listen, for example, to the clear harpsichord in "Our House" and Stills' spare acoustic guitar and remarkable voice in "4 + 20." This album is a classic, and it is all the more listenable because it was remastered so well.